Healthier Holidays Lead to a Healthier 2019!

The average American gains 5 to 7 pounds between Halloween and New Year’s. Most people spend the first 5 months of the year trying to shake the pesky weight they gained over the holidays.

Sugar is literally “The Grinch That Stole Christmas.” It is in EVERYTHING — from coffee to wine; and December is the sweetest month of the year. Which means December is also the most fattening month. Not only is all that sugar fattening, it is a major contributor to inflammation; which is linked to every horrible disease you never want to have. No one wants to gain weight and feel like crap if it can be avoided.

Don’t just throw in the towel and tell yourself you will try to undo the damage in January. Take control and harness the power of your little every-day habits to feel better now and lay the foundation for 2019.

I have created 5 tips for navigating the holiday sugar tsunami – especially those liquid sugars! Liquid sugars are the sneaky fatteners that contribute to that dreaded belly fat.

2. Drink Less Sugar. Sugar is BAD. Skip that gingerbread latte and have an espresso. Steer clear of fancy holiday drinks that are just sugar bombs; you don’t need that peppermint hot chocolate or sugarplum cosmopolitan. Added sugar will trigger sweet cravings, making it harder to navigate the holiday barrage of sweet treats tempting you at every turn.

3. Drink Champagne. Champagne and sparkling wine have fewer calories per ounce than wine, beer and cocktails. Champagne is packed with health boosting polyphenols – antioxidants found in the 2 red grapes commonly used to make champagne. Antioxidants have a beneficial effect on the walls of blood vessels, helping to lower blood pressure and prevent heart problems. Moderate consumption of champagne has also been linked to improved cognitive function. Cheers!

4. Avoid Artificial Sweeteners. Nothing is worse for gut health than artificial sweeteners. They signal your body to extract more calories from the food you eat and store it as fat. Artificial sweeteners are worse for you than refined sugar. They skew your ability to taste natural sweetness, interfere with the functioning of your digestive system, and create inflammation in the body. I lump Stevia in here as well, because it is super sweet and the more you eat or drink sweet, the more you crave it! Just use a little maple syrup in your coffee.

5. Drink clean-crafted natural wine. The average mass-produced bottle of wine can contain up to 16 grams of added sugar. Grapes are on the Environmental Working Groups Dirty Dozen list, meaning they are grown with excessive amounts of pesticides, fungicides, chemical fertilizers and can be genetically modified. All of that ends up in your glass of wine. Wine can also contain any of the 250 FDA approved additives, including sulfites. If you enjoy wine and you care about your health, you want to make sure you are drinking wine as nature intended. Organic from grape to glass!

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I am a passionate advocate for food as medicine, life navigator and culinary coach. This is my space for sharing what excites, inspires and motivates me to live my best life. It began as a recipe blog for nourishing, simple, weekday meals and has become something much bigger… a guide for vibrant longevity. I am excited to share my knowledge of how daily habits can cumulatively help you to live like you mean it and age like you want to.